“Where do you think she’s going so fast?” A woman who was looking out her window yelled to her friend walking by.

Their attention focused on an elderly woman running down the street hollering, “Come to the well. The Messiah has come.”

The friend snickered. “She’s acting like a crazy woman during the hottest part of the day. However, she never disappoints us when it comes time to find gossip. Now, she’s bragging about meeting the Messiah. Will she ever cease to amaze us?”

The first lady opened her door. “Come in, and I’ll get you a drink.”

The lady escorted her guest to where the water vessel was located in the corner of the room. Dipping a hollowed-out gourd inside the clay pot, she filled it with the cool water drawn from Jacob’s well earlier that morning. “Why are you not home out of this heat?”

“My son came home blabbering about ‘you know who’ talking to a Jew at the well. I had to see for myself. Her zany behavior didn't let me down.”

They laughed.

“Hummm. You’d think she’s had enough men in her life. Now, it looks like she’s scraping bottom talking to a Jew.” Both women said in unison, “Something has to be done about her.”

The guest took another drink and glanced out the window. “A crowd is gathering at the well. Let’s join them.” Both ladies walked out in the street and mingled with their neighbors.

With arms crossed and grimaces on their faces, the spectators stood at a distance from the well where the Jew sat. By now, a small group of more Jews surrounded him. They fussed at him for not eating and he talked about harvesting.

The villagers listened to the strangers for a few minutes. Whispers of how the unwelcomed visitor had broken three of the most important rules of conduct in their society circled around the group. First, he had the nerve to speak to a woman in public. Second, Jews and Samaritans never associated with each other. Finally, this Jewish man drank from the woman’s cup which made him unclean.

The woman from the well stood in the center of the large crowd. She spoke in a loud clear voice. “Do you think it was by chance that this Jewish man stopped here at the well today, especially in this heat? I say our meeting was predestined by the Great Jehovah. This man standing . . . .”

She stepped closer to him and raised his arm. “He is the Messiah, the ancient prophets have written about in the scriptures.”

The crowd grasped. Some of the people started to walk away.

She waited for silence. “This man is called Jesus, the Messiah. He revealed everything about me— my five husbands by name, and how long I lived with each. Even the man, I’m now living with and who is not my husband, was no secret. How could this man have known this?”

The villagers shrugged.

She scanned the audience. “Yes, this Jewish man was hot, tired, and thirsty, and he asked me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink. I couldn’t believe it myself at first. But he said, ‘If you only knew the free gift of God, and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water.’” *

“What is this living water?” The people shouted.

She smiled at Jesus. “Our thirst returns when we drink from Jacob’s well. This living water is like a spring gushing up inside the believers of Jehovah. It is the gift of eternal life.”

One of the two women spoke. “Remember, we’re Samaritans. The Jews say we have no birthright to Jehovah’s family because of how and where we worship.”

Everyone agreed.

The woman from the well continued. “We have waited generations for the Messiah. I believe, today is that day of his arrival. He comes searching for people to worship him in truth and spirit. Can we afford to miss this opportunity?”

The spectators studied the Jewish man, and all that had been said. Could he be the Messiah? Could he erase hundreds of years of sins from their ancestry? Could he overlook the views of earthly citizens about worship?

First, to accept the hope of eternal life were the two women. They invited Jesus, and the woman into their homes for fellowship and that evening.

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.

I really enjoyed this article and the way you retold the story. I could relate to the conversation of the 2 women. You captured it all creatively, and I was there in the midst of the setting. Thank you for this little interlude...